Aftermath
by Sketcher1994
Summary: Zoro flicked the blood off of his kananas before slipping them into their sheaths, glancing around at the crew. It wasn't long before they were boarding the ship again. Zoro made his way up to the crow's nest, deciding to train in peace, but already knowing he wouldn't get it. He'd seen the way Nami had glared at him after the battle. He'd only lost one eye, not both.


**AN: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda**

**Here's today's little one-shot, hope you enjoy it! ^_^ It's my last Sunday One-Shot for 2014!**

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><p>Zoro flicked the blood off of his kananas before slipping them into their sheaths, glancing around at the crew, taking note of the few injures they'd taken. The battle had gone well, only a few cuts and scrapes – Chopper will have an easy time fixing everyone up he thought silently, noticing Chopper already getting the first aid kit out of his bag. Zoro sighed and started walking over to his Captain. The idiot had just launched himself into another cafe, as usual, and upset another group of pirates, and a large one at that. The base of Zoro's clenched fist made contact with the top of Luffy's head as he scalded him for getting everyone's attention when they'd been trying to be discreet.<p>

It wasn't long before they were boarding the ship again, Sanji now having to put on a disguise to get shopping after Luffy half destroying the cafe by accident. Zoro made his way up to the crow's nest, deciding to train in peace, but already knowing he wouldn't get it. He'd seen the way Nami had glared at him after the battle. He'd only lost one eye, not both.

He closed the hatch and picked up his weights, planning to get in some training before Nami came up to start trying to push him around. He knew why they put up with her bad temper, but she definitely pushed her luck. If it wasn't for Luffy deciding she was the only Navigator for them, he'd definitely have gotten rid of her by now. He sighed, who was he kidding? She was still his damn Nakama, whether she got on his nerves or not.

"Zoro?"

Here she comes.

"Yeah?" He sighed, hoping this wasn't going to be another long lecture.

"What happened out there?"

"Huh?" He replied, wondering what she was talking about this time.

"Don't give me that, Zoro! What happened out there? The three of you finished the fight pretty quick as usual, but there was a serious lack of teamwork, Zoro. Luffy asked the rest of us to stay out of the fight because it had been you three that they'd challenged, but you kind of failed that, didn't you?" She interrogated, walking around to the front of him to look him in the eye.

"The guy that went after you was one of Love-Cook's, not mine, so why are you up here lecturing me?" He asked, glaring at her.

"'One of Love-Cook's'? That's your answer?" She glared back at him, her failing restraint showing in her face, "I asked about your lack of teamwork, and you've just proved my point!"

"That _was_ teamwork," he sighed, his face beginning to tense with frustration.

"NO! It _wasn't_!" She exclaimed, stepping towards him, "that was three guys working on their own to defeat another group of pirates!"

"We _were_ working as a team, Nami. We each know where the others are, allowing us to fight without hurting each other – that sounds like pretty good teamwork to me!" He replied, resisting the urge to shout.

"Fight without hurting each other? How about fighting together? Fighting to protect each other's backs?" She yelled in his face.

"That's what we did! That's what we always do!" He yelled back, Robin finally lifting her nose out of her book to gauge the situation.

"No! You took out 'your opponents' and ignored the others! All you care about is showing off! You don't care about anyone but yourself! You're a selfish brute with no thought to how your actions affect your friends!" She yelled, her fist moving towards Zoro's head at full speed.

A hand stopped her fist an inch away from Zoro's head as he continued to train, ignoring what was an incoming threat.

"That's enough Nami-swan. What would Luffy think if he heard the two of you arguing like this?"

Nami looked up at Sanji, her eyes showing her surprise at his presence. He wasn't supposed to be there. She'd just come up to tell Zoro off, what if Sanji had heard what she'd said and felt bad about before? Was he angry with her? What was he even doing here? Hadn't it just been her and Zoro? Had Sanji heard them from the kitchen?

A movement caught her eye and she spotted Robin sitting on the bench by the window, her book on her lap. Had Robin been there the whole time? Of course she had – she'd been the first onto the ship. She'd been up here reading when they'd spotted the island. She must have come straight up here to continue...and then told on her when she'd been picking a fight with Zoro. Robin had ratted her out...and to Sanji.

Well, at least it wasn't Luffy.

"You know I'm right, Zoro." She finished, letting Sanji lead her towards the hatch.

"I told Luffy when I joined that I'd kill him if he got in the way of my dream – that hasn't changed. I plan to keep following Luffy, and you're not going to stop me. I promised him that I'd never lose again, and I'm certainly not going to be defeated by you or your damns words. If you think you can beat me, you're obviously the craziest on this ship, and it's not because you're a woman. Gender means nothing – understand that, Nami. If you insist on doing this every time, Luffy won't be able to stop me, and Love-Cook won't be able to protect you." He turned to glare at her, "don't keep angering me, Nami – you will regret it."

Zoro watched as Sanji pulled her through the hatch, pulling her away from him. She'd gotten away with her outburst this time. She better be thanking Robin for calling Love-Cook. She needed to stop doing that before he snapped. If he did, there was no telling what he'd do to her. He could slice her to pieces too easily and he didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want to hurt anyone. He needed to stay calm, hold his temper, or he'd end up doing something stupid. They'd never forgive him if he hurt her – he wouldn't even forgive himself. She crossed the line so often, but maybe that was what kept them safe? Her constant nagging tested his patience just enough. Wasn't that how if worked? The more you pushed something, the better it got? He kept pushing his body and it kept getting stronger? Then again, it was always possible to push something too far, and she was getting close.

"Zoro-san?" He turned to face Robin where she sat, her book still on her lap.

"Yeah?" He grunted, walking towards her as he continued to lift the oversized weight in his left hand.

"Did you mean that threat?" She asked, looking up at him as he stood over her.

"It wasn't a threat, it was a warning." He replied, sitting down next to her, the weight still moving up and down, "I don't know how much longer I can take her arrogance, Robin. I'm not going to change, not for anyone. I'm going to become the world's greatest swordsman and no-one's going to stand in my way. I made a promise, and I'm going to keep it with Wado Ichimonji. I'm not going to let her treat me like that, Robin. I've done nothing wrong. I had both of their backs, they knew that." He looked at her, wondering if she understood, "how would Love-Cook have felt if I'd taken care of that guy for him? It would have wounded his pride if I'd done that. We're both competitive," he smirked, thinking about how many stupid arguments they'd gotten into, "Love-Cook dealt with him, didn't he? Nami and Usoppe just panicked and she fell over a damn stone! That's the only reason she got hurt!"

"Zoro-san, you got hurt too, didn't you? We just had to stand and watch – we weren't supposed to join in...and I think she felt a little left out? Even if she's nervous at times, Zoro-san, she still wants to fight when the three of you are – none of us want to feel useless. We're all part of the crew." She smiled, making Zoro look away.

"But why does she insist on trying to pick a fight with me? Why not Love-Cook or Luffy?!" He asked, irritated.

"Neither Nami-san or I can get into an argument with Sanji-san, certainly not easily. He'll shout and argue with everyone else though, if he wants. The two of you certainly like to argue," she teased, watching Zoro pout as he mumbled something about 'being competitive', "and you shouldn't really argue with your Captain, should you, First Mate?"

"And so she picks a fight with me for no reason," he sighed, trying to ignore the blood rushing in his ears.

"Everyone needs to take their frustration out somehow, Zoro-san. You know that already though," she stated, picking up her book.

"How do you take out yours?" He asked, turning to look at her as she read.

"You already know the answer to that, Zoro-_kun_," Zoro's face turned crimson as he picked up on her hint.

"A devil and a demon works, right?" He smirked, looking at the weight still in his hand, his muscles flexing as he raised and lowered it.

"Of course," she replied, understanding him completely as she continued to read.

"I'm never going to change, Robin, I'd rather die than do what she tells me." He began, setting the weight down next to him, "And there's one thing we both know," he continued, turning to face her as she raised her head, wondering what he was about to say, "I'm alive." He finished, capturing his secret girlfriend's lips as she smiled at him.

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><p><strong>Hope you liked it! ^_^ Anyone spot the hidden ship? ;)<strong>

_**Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of my One Piece one-shot readers!**_

**Hope to see all of you in the New Year! ^_^ I'm going to start posting 3 times a week**** - that means there will be a One Piece day, a Fairy Tail day AND a one-shot day! ^_^ **

_~ Sketcher1994 __x_


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